Hello - I'm a newbie here. Planning on taking a sea kayaking course in Seattle this Spring, and concerned about getting my hearing aids wet. Anyone out there wear aids and how do you deal with the possibility of getting dumped? They're expensive tools and don't take well to large amounts of water. It was suggested that I simply not wear them while paddling, just carry them along in a sealable container to wear during lunch stops and camping. This sounds feasible, as it appears there is a lot of noise from wind and surf that impairs the hearing of 'normal' folks. But I'm wondering, is there a safety issue here? Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks! (I posted this question to a sea kayak BBS also - my apologies if this is redundant for any of you.) Kris *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Kris, You have actually hit an important safety issue of sea kayaking --signalling. Kayakers can not rely on speech for communication. That is why there are a couple of "languages" of hand and paddle signals developed for kayakers. The basic language has very few signals. - Paddle held vertically: come here - Paddle held horizontally: hold your position - Paddle waved from side to side: help! For assisting other kayakers in landing through surf there are two more words: - Paddle going up and down vertically: paddle forward fast - Paddle horizontal with blades going up and down: paddle backwards. Some groups, like the Tsunamy rangers, have developed their own extensive hand signal language tailored for their needs. That begs the question: how do you call someone's attention to look at your hand signals? You do not. It is the responsibility of every member of the group to look at all the other members frequently. You should wait until another paddler looks at you, and then do your hand signals. Avoid paddling with people who do not understand the importance of looking at each other frequently. In the bottom line, it so happens that hearing impaired people, who have a very extensive and well developed sign language, are better off and communicate better at sea than anyone else. - Julio Kris wrote: > I'm a newbie here. Planning on taking a sea kayaking course in Seattle this > Spring, and concerned about getting my hearing aids wet. Anyone out there > wear aids and how do you deal with the possibility of getting dumped? > They're expensive tools and don't take well to large amounts of water. It > was suggested that I simply not wear them while paddling, just carry them > along in a sealable container to wear during lunch stops and camping. This > sounds feasible, as it appears there is a lot of noise from wind and surf > that impairs the hearing of 'normal' folks. But I'm wondering, is there a > safety issue here? > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> From: Julio MacWilliams wrote: > > Kayakers can not rely on speech for communication. > While this is very true, I quite often rely on my hearing to provide warning of events occurring behind me. The approach of a boat, a breaking wave, a whale (only when lucky), a whistle or warning horn, etc. Paddling in fog your hearing becomes especially important. I hope that there's a good answer to this hearing aid issue - since hopefully we'll all be paddling for many more years and may need to know about such things.<g> Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I don't know how serious you are about this whole paddling thing and whether or not you're in a position to buy a different hearing aid, but I just did a quick search of AltaVista using the string "waterproof hearing aid" and received three hits. I didn't dig deeper than that, but one mentioned something about swimming with a hearing aid.... Sounds like the technology exists. An additional thought is that it might be difficult to communicate _during a class_ without your hearing aids. There's more verbal communication that occurs in the typical class scenario than on many "normal" paddles. Dave Seng (spending a lot of time in the office this week) Juneau, Alaska > -----Original Message----- > From: Kris Stebbins [mailto:kstebbins_at_seanet.com] > Planning on taking a sea kayaking course > in Seattle this > Spring, and concerned about getting my hearing aids wet. > Anyone out there > wear aids and how do you deal with the possibility of getting dumped? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I asked my audiologist about waterproof aids and they aren't cheap either - about $1,000 each. Oy. She did say that there is damage insurance that would cover aids damaged or lost while kayaking, although, she said, often aids do survive being submerged, sent through the washer, etc. But there's no guarantee. I think I'll try taking them out for the paddle. I'll definitely wear them in class. Otherwise there'd be no point to taking the class. Dave, you made a good point about being able to hear potential dangers from behind. As long as I'm in a group where everyone knows of my handicap (I hate that word but it fits) I should be OK. If I really like the sport and want to go solo I'll have to think about either buying insurance or a second pair of waterproof aids. Thanks! Kris >I don't know how serious you are about this whole paddling thing and >whether or not you're in a position to buy a different hearing aid, but >I just did a quick search of AltaVista using the string "waterproof >hearing aid" and received three hits. I didn't dig deeper than that, >but one mentioned something about swimming with a hearing aid.... >An additional thought is that it might be difficult to communicate >_during a class_ without your hearing aids. There's more verbal >communication that occurs in the typical class scenario than on many >"normal" paddles. > >Dave Seng *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Kris, >Dave, you made a good point about being able to hear potential dangers from behind. -------------- Sounds over water can do strange things, so to help see what's happening behind me, i wear a mirror attached to my glasses. it's the type that bikers use ... these mirrors are available at many sporting goods outlets. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Kris, You will definitely be making a very expensive mistake to wear your aids on the water. As to hearing your paddling partners, much depends, of course on your degree of hearing loss. As a general rule, I would suggest you take care to stay close to your mates: close enough to read facial expressions ought to do it. You might do well to review hand signals and gestures that everyone agrees to recognize before embarking. That said, enjoy! -----Original Message----- From: Kris Stebbins <kstebbins_at_seanet.com> To: Paddlewise <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net> Date: Wednesday, February 17, 1999 10:18 PM Subject: [Paddlewise] Hearing Aids & Kayaks >Hello - > >I'm a newbie here. Planning on taking a sea kayaking course in Seattle this >Spring, and concerned about getting my hearing aids wet. Anyone out there >wear aids and how do you deal with the possibility of getting dumped? >They're expensive tools and don't take well to large amounts of water. It >was suggested that I simply not wear them while paddling, just carry them >along in a sealable container to wear during lunch stops and camping. This >sounds feasible, as it appears there is a lot of noise from wind and surf >that impairs the hearing of 'normal' folks. But I'm wondering, is there a >safety issue here? > >Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks! > >(I posted this question to a sea kayak BBS also - my apologies if this is >redundant for any of you.) > >Kris > >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ >*************************************************************************** > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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